Apple iPhone Air profile

Apple introduced the iPhone 17 Air, the newest version of the iPhone, as a part of its suite of unveilings at the "Awe Dropping" event on Sept. 9.

The ultra-slim model replaces the second level Plus line of iPhones. However, it wasn't positioned as a replacement for the Plus, but as the company exploring a new design trend.

"It's a paradox you need to hold to believe," said Apple's senior vice president of hardware engineering, John Ternus.

Here's what you need to know about the iPhone 17 Air.

iPhone 17 Air features

The iPhone 17 Air will be 5.6 millimeters thin, about a third thinner than the iPhone 16 Pro, and weighs 165 grams. Its 6.5-inch ProMotion display is encased in a lightweight titanium-aluminum frame.

The Air will be powered by an A19 Pro chip, which the company called faster and more efficient. Tim Mellet, vice president of platform architecture, said the new phone had "MacBook Pro levels of compute in an iPhone."

The iPhone Air's camera has 28mm and 35mm lenses give a total of four lens focal lengths. The front camera also uses the Center Stage sensor found on other parts of the iPhone 17 line.

iPhone Air accessories

Apple is releasing a additional battery pack that can be added to the smartphone. With this extra battery, which attaches to the smartphone's back, users get 40 hours of video playback.

Apple is also offering two cases for the smartphone, a translucent case that is less than 1mm thin. This case is available in two shades: frost and shadow. A lightweight bumper case will also be available in the iPhone Air's four colors. Apple is also offering a cross-body strap for the iPhone Air.

iPhone 17 Air colors

The iPhone 17 Air is set to come in black, white, light gold, and light blue.

iPhone 17 Air price

The iPhone 17 Air will cost $999 for a 256 GB version (or $41.62 per month for 24 months).

iPhone 17 Air pre-order

The iPhone 17 Air is set to be available for pre-order Friday, Sept. 12.

iPhone 17 Air launch

The iPhone 17 line will launch Friday, Sept. 19.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: iPhone Air is officially unveiled. Here's what's different about it.

Reporting by James Powel and Greta Cross, USA TODAY / USA TODAY

USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect